AROUND THE WORLD.

President appeals for calm after unrest

January 27, 2002|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — The nation's new leader pleaded for calm--and time--after a nationwide protest over his handling of a deep economic crisis turned violent early Saturday when police clashed with demonstrators outside the government palace.

"We can't solve all of the country's problems in three weeks," President Eduardo Duhalde, who took office Jan. 2, said in a radio address hours after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators.

At least 13 people were injured in clashes outside the government palace, and dozens were detained, Argentine media reported.

Beset by swelling protests over a banking freeze and his decision to devalue the peso by more than 30 percent, Duhalde vowed that his administration, the fifth in the past month, would present a new economic program to end four years of recession. He made no mention of the restrictions that have locked most Argentines' savings into bank accounts.

"I only ask of all Argentines one thing: Keep up the hope," he said. "I'm only here for two years, and my promise is that at the end of my term, I'll leave the country back on track."

Last month, Argentina halted payments on its $141 billion public debt, and the International Monetary Fund withheld a new $1.23 billion loan, saying the country had no viable economic program.